[He stiffens, his fingers twitching in protective cloth and leather, but he doesn't lash out, doesn't run, doesn't do any of ten other wrong things he really wants to do. He stands and looks at her while Patches looks at him, sensing his discomfort, his fear, and presses closer to his legs.]

No.

[Quiet, vague, as if hypnotized. Not just No, don't touch me, although it means that too. But mostly, she's just wrong.]

You can't say things like that, like you know me, like you can pick apart what I feel and call it normal. It's never felt special. It's always just been a lie.

That's why I don't trust you. [He exhales, somewhat comforted by having finally figured it out.] All that love, it feels like a trick.